Here We Go Again
by Jayjaylemony
Summary: Post-TRC. Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane set off to travel once again. This time, they're stuck with a new travel buddy, Rina, thanks to her crazy brother's mysterious plans. As the boys visit past destinations with a new goal, Rina tries to carry out a mission of her own—one that may not be so far removed from theirs. FaixOC, a jealous Kuro, and possible other pairings.
1. The City of Marxus

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's a new TRC fanfic for you all to enjoy. Pairing is to be decided. This chapter's a little on the slow side, but it'll pick up. Please read and review—your comments and criticism really do mean a lot to me. ****The summary provided isn't the best of summaries, but I hope you'll overlook that and enjoy the story. **

**Disclaimer: All original TRC characters and the original TRC plot belong to CLAMP.**

* * *

"Ugh…" the boy groaned, rubbing his forehead. One would think he'd have been used to the ways of time-space travel by now. Maybe it was just a particularly rough landing, or maybe it was because he was so affected by being separated from his loved one for the umpteenth time. Whatever the case, he was off his game—that much was for certain.

"You okay there, Syaoran-kun?" the wiry blond asked, gleefully helping the boy to his feet. His smile was, as always, sweet but tinged with sadness. At least he was smiling now. "You took quite a tumble this time, didn't you?"

Syaoran nodded slowly. "Yes…" he said, patting the dirt off his cloak. "Thank you, Fai-san. I think the landing just caught me off guard."

Nearby, the black-clad man staggered to his feet. "It's the god-damned manju bun's fault," he snapped, glaring at the manju bun in question. But before he could quite get his hands around it, he stepped on his own cloak and stumbled backwards. "God _dammit!_ I'm gonna get you, you little runt!"

"Kurogane is so scary!" the white manju bun squealed.

The blond giggled as he caught the manju bun in his hand. "Now, now. Kuro-pii, don't frighten Mokona," he scolded, though the jocular tone in his voice was evident.

Syaoran, having recovered from his fall, was all business now. "Where are we?" he wondered, taking a good look at his surroundings. They were standing on what appeared to be a hill overlooking an impressive city. It was quite obviously nighttime—the sky was pitch dark—but people milled about on the streets nonetheless. Lights in the windows of the high rises and buildings indicated that the people of the city were wide awake. "I don't think...we've been here before…" Syaoran muttered. His companions nodded solemnly.

The sound of an object ripping through air startled them out of silence. "Get out of the way, bozos!" a girl shouted as she hurtled towards them at an impossibly high speed. Accordingly, the group scattered.

Fai kept his eyes trained on the girl's face as she plummeted towards the earth head-first. He noticed that her expression gave no sign that she was bracing for impact, even as impact drew nearer. In fact, he could see only a burning determination in her eyes. Was this the face of a warrior headed to battle?

Suddenly, as if a parachute had been deployed, the girl hovered, her face only inches from the ground. Two enormous, silvery wings had unfolded, now beating rhythmically. It was clear that she wasn't quite used to the mechanics of flying, because she hovered awkwardly in the air, seemingly unable to keep the balance between the speeds at which the two wings flapped. "They're mechanical!" Fai exclaimed. Sure enough, upon close inspection, the girl's wings appeared to be constructed of metal and a sort of microfiber. Though they were beautiful in their own right, one couldn't help but feel that they were clunky and their movements stiff.

"Everyone, look!" Mokona gasped. With each powerful thresh of her synthetic wings, the girl began to climb higher—joining the hundreds of other airborne people in the sky. People zipped around on hang gliders, jet packs, personal airplanes, and other hovercrafts. "It's almost like in Piffle World!"

Syaoran and the others nodded. "Yes, but...It's not the same," he asserted. "The technology is advanced, but everything else looks so...different…" He picked up a stone from the ground. "It's like a city surrounded by mountains on all sides. It feels so hidden away," he said. "And I can't say what, but something feels so strange about this place. There's a lot of tension in the air."

"Well, it's a lot less peaceful here, that's for sure," Fai agreed. "No feather, but I'm sure there's some other kind of magic here. It's very faint, but it's there," he concluded. "And there are no cars here, either. But boy, it sure is incredible that they have flying boxes like in Piffle World. And that girl even had wings!"

"Hmph," Kurogane grunted, clearly unamused. "If people were meant to fly, we'd have been born with wings."

Fai laughed at his companion's dour expression. "Oh, Kuro-puu. We know you enjoyed flying the Kurotan during the the Dragonfly Race. I mean, you just looked so-o-o cool!"

"Why you little—"

"Stop it, you two!" Mokona shouted, latching onto Kurogane's face. "We have to be serious now!"

Syaoran surveyed the area once again. "Is it strange that we're in a place that we've never been to before?" he asked. "Mokona told us that the memories in the black Mokona's earring would lead us back to the people we've met, but this place is entirely new. And we don't have feathers to guide us anymore," he sighed. "But I don't think I'm wrong to say that there's definitely another source of magic around here." He started down the hill, looking towards the cluster of skyscrapers. "Let's head to the city—there might be something worth checking out there."

"Yes, sir!" Fai chirped, happily bounding after Syaoran. Kurogane simply rolled his eyes at Fai's act before trudging after them, Mokona perched on his shoulder.

*.*.*.*.*

"Oi, Rina," the bartender said as he wiped off the counter-top. "You here already? It's not even six yet."

Rina nodded slowly, unzipping her jacket and throwing it over the back of a stool before taking a seat. She pulled her goggles down around her neck. "It's been a long day, Touya," she sighed. "Rayze and I got into another argument over the prototype." She rested her cheek against the polished stone of the bar.

"Hey, sit up! I just cleaned that!" Touya snapped. Then, more gently: "Look, Rina. I don't get why you still hang around that little brat. God knows he's up to no good."

Rina sat up reluctantly. "He's more than just a brother to me. He's an old friend of mine, y'know? We're like you and Yukito. Friends for life. Best buddies. Pals. Whatever," she mumbled. "Anyway, just get me the usual."

"Already done, Rina-chan," Yukito said, emerging from the kitchen with Rina's drink. "Your White Russian Float, made-to-order."

"Aw, what?! Yukito-san, you're the best!" Rina giggled, taking her drink from Yukito's hand. "Why doesn't Touya ever make my drinks? Is he really that lazy?"

Touya snorted. "_Please._ As if I'd ever make such a sugary woman-drink." He poured himself a glass of red wine and sat down next to her. "Anyway, so tell me about that prototype. My guess is that it's another no-go?"

Rina sighed again. "Well...it's getting somewhere, at least," she said. "Rayze thinks it's a real waste of my time to be working on it, but I really do think it's a glimpse of the future." She stirred the ice cream in her drink until it melted. "I mean, he says he needs me to be helping him out with R&R corporation above all else."

"Hmm. It's true he's been pretty hell-bent on that ever since you two got here," Touya recalled. "What is it that you've been doing with R&R corporation, anyway?"

Rina took a deep breath. "That much is classified information," she chuckled. "It's my night job, if you will. We've got nothing but prototypes so far."

"Huh. So, more machinery and such. You two sure are an ambitious pair," Touya remarked. "But it's funny how neither of you ever thought about going back home." He paused. "We enjoy your company here, sure, but you were so young when you got here."

The corners of Rina's lips turned up slightly. "You'd be surprised how much we wished we could go home," she said, downing the last of her drink. "Rayze never stopped thinking about it, actually. But for me, this is my home now."

Yukito plucked her glass from her hands. "I think it's time we wrapped up this conversation," he cooed, giving Touya a pointed glare. "Speaking of Rayze, where is he, Rina-chan?"

Rina threw her head back and laughed. "As if I knew! But Rayze being Rayze, he's either got his nose stuck in a book or he's programming something."

Yukito smiled knowingly. "He's a brilliant kid."

Touya slumped over, resting his head on the counter-top and sighing loudly. "Brat or not, what would we be without his skills?"

"Come now, Touya." Yukito dragged Touya off the stool and onto his feet. "You just cleaned the counter."

*.*.*.*.*

"Do you get the feeling we're horribly out of place here, Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked cheerfully. "People have been staring at us as though we're monsters of some sort."

Kurogane scoffed. "It's not like our clothes help us blend in. Clow country's pretty different from here." He paused for a moment. "Not that it matters, of course."

Syaoran shrugged. "You're right, though. We definitely don't fit in, but there aren't any shops around here where we can buy new clothes."

"Not to mention the fact that we don't have money that can be used here, by the looks of it," Fai said, pointing to the people swiping credit cards in vending machines. "I guess we'll just have to make do."

"You three look like you just came in from the excavation site."

Fai, Syaoran, Kurogane, and Mokona swiveled around. A boy, maybe seventeen, stood before them, clad in the white and blue jumpsuit that they'd seen around the city countless times. In his right hand, he carried a wrench; in his left, he cradled a book. "People like you don't come into the city all too often," he commented. Lifting his goggles so that they rested atop his head, he laughed, "But I guess that's a refreshing change of pace for us city-dwellers."

"We couldn't help but notice how busy it is here when it's so late at night," Syaoran blurted out. "Is that just what the city's like?"

The boy raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "You kiddin' me? Or are you seriously ill?" he asked, running a hand through his messy brown hair. "The curfew's still in place, kid. Gov's just as strict as it's always been. Nobody'd be out past ten thirty, you can be sure of that." He chuckled to himself. "Boy, I'd heard stories about the archaeologists being pretty clueless, but this is priceless."

Fai broke into a smile. "You see, we're not from around here," he explained. "I'm Fai. My pals here are Kurogane, Syaoran—"

"And Mokona!" Mokona interjected.

"And Mokona," Fai chuckled. "I'm not sure what excavation site you may be talking about, but we would be honored if you would explain it to us."

"Not from around here, huh? So you're travelers…." the boy mumbled, thinking to himself. Suddenly, he looked up at the group, grinning madly. "That would explain a lot. Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Rayze Murasaki, and this—" he said, gesturing to the bustling city around them with his wrench "—is the lovely city of Marxus."

"Lovely indeed," Fai said, watching citizens soar high above the buildings like kites.

"But the sky is so dark," Syaoran said. "It's dark, but it's not night. Is this what the daytime is like here?"

Rayze stifled a laugh. "Sky? Daytime? You must be traveling from very, _very_ far away," he said. "This is what it's like here _all the time_. Marxus is the largest of a good number of underground civilizations—that's the only kind of city or community you're going to see for hundreds of miles." He started walking, motioning for the rest to follow. "C'mon, I'll show you around a little."

"What's this curfew you mentioned?" Kurogane asked gruffly.

"Ah, the infamous curfew," Rayze said, smiling impishly. "We've got very limited access to electricity down here. We can generate enough for us to live, but not enough to keep the city powered all hours of the day," he explained. "Basically, city shuts down at ten thirty every night, and while there's no 'official' curfew, you're as good as dead if you go out past shutdown. It's too dark to see anything and the bugs'll get you in a flash."

Rayze led the group past a lofty glass structure. "This here's The Elevator. It goes straight up to the surface, but unless you've got the proper license and protective gear, you're not allowed to use it," he said.

Syaoran looked up at the tower. It stretched so high up that he couldn't see where it broke the surface. "What's up there?"

"What indeed," Rayze sighed. "No one really knows too much about it because the chemical waste up there is lethal. The gear needed to go up is pretty pricey, and nobody who goes up comes back down." He pointed to a tall, ornate building to their left. "That's the Meridian. It's the only hotel here, and it's not at all a bad place. You guys looking for a place to stay?"

Syaoran shook his head slowly. "We don't have much money. And besides, we don't know how long we'll be here."

Rayze nodded in understanding. "I gotcha. It's not exactly the cheapest place," he admitted. "But don't let money be an issue if you're looking to stay here for a few nights. I'll gladly offer you my place to stay."

Mokona, who had migrated from Kurogane's shoulder to Fai's, whispered in Fai's ear, "Are we leaving very soon?"

Fai shrugged. "It's up to Syaoran, but my guess is that whatever little magic is here isn't what we're looking for."

Syaoran furrowed his brows. "We appreciate your offer, but money isn't the issue," he insisted. "We're going to have to head to our next destination very soon."

"Hmm." Rayze puffed out his cheeks as he thought. "If that's the case, we have one more stop on this tour. Follow me." With that, he ducked into a narrow alley and stopped in front of a large metal door. "Use this as an opportunity to relax a little before you head off," he said, smiling as he turned the doorknob.

Inside was a clean, modern bar with wineglasses hanging from the ceiling and a beautiful, well-lit display of various alcoholic bevarages in the center of the room. "This is a little-known joint on the edge of town. It's a real treat to those of us who know about it," he said proudly. "Don't worry about the costs; I've got you covered."

"Is that Rayze?" the bartender called from behind the counter, squinting at the customers. "Heh, I knew it was you. We were just talking about you."

"Y-your Highness?!" Syaoran gasped, but quickly covered his mouth after realizing his mistake.

"Ah, that's the king in your land again," Fai whispered to Syaoran. "Touya, wasn't it?"

Touya eyed Syaoran strangely. "'Your Highness,' huh? Hah, that'd be the day," he scoffed. "Brought some friends today, did you, Rayze?"

"Just some travelers," Rayze beamed, patting Syaoran on the back. Then, catching sight of the lone other customer in the room, his eyes lit up. "Rina! Rina, come and meet my new acquaintances!"

Rina spun around in her seat, lazily swinging her legs as she did. "Travelers?" she asked. The moment she made eye-contact with Fai, she stood up abruptly, accidentally knocking her jacket off the stool in the process. "Y-you're the guys who were in my way this morning!" she declared, pointing at them accusingly.

Fai smiled at her. "Ah, so you're the girl with the robotic wings," he said.

"Oh, you mean the clumsy one who couldn't fly straight?" Kurogane deadpanned.

Rina's shoulders slumped. "I can't believe this," she whined. "It's bad enough that I have to hear this from Rayze, but now I get it from random strangers, too?"

Rayze looked from Rina to the group in confusion. "...Guess you've met before?"

Rina sat back down dejectedly. "Hardly," she groaned. "I can't believe you _know_ them, Rayze."

Rayze rolled his eyes. "That's no way to treat visitors," he scolded. Turning to the group, he said, "This is my sister Rina. I'm sorry if she was rude to you at all."

Syaoran and Fai shook their heads. "Not at all," Fai said. "I thought her wings were actually very cool."

"You saw that, huh?" Rayze frowned, but only for a moment. "In any case, I'm glad you don't hate each other or anything," he said, crossing the room and taking Rina's hand. Though she struggled initially, she eventually gave up and allowed him to drag her back to the group. A combination between the alcohol and her general tiredness took all the fight from her.

Rayze gestured to the travelers. "Rina, meet Fai, Syaoran, Kurogane—"

"And Mokona!" Mokona giggled.

"—and Mokona," Rayze said. "I want you to treat them very nicely. You're going to be traveling with them for a while."

"_What?!"_ Rina spat, nearly choking on her own surprise.

Syaoran, Kurogane, and Fai looked at one another curiously. "...Huh?" Syaoran sputtered. "You can't mean you want us to take her with us, can you?"

Rayze grinned and shoved Rina forward. She only just managed to stop herself from falling into Syaoran. "I'm afraid that's exactly what I mean," he chirped.

Bewildered, Rina looked at each of the faces before her. Each of the travelers looked back at her with expressions of equal confusion. But before she even turned around to argue with Rayze, she knew that his decision was set in stone. Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane noticed the look of utter resignation that had settled on Rina's face—and in that moment, they knew this, too.

Whatever it was that Rayze was keeping up his sleeves was going to make sure that they'd have a new traveling companion, whether they—or she—liked it or not.


	2. Happy

**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who read the last chapter! Here's chapter 2; after this, we'll get down to the action.**

**Disclaimer: TRC and its characters belong to CLAMP. **

* * *

Rina was thoroughly inebriated by the time the bar actually opened for business at six, having switched from happily sipping on her "sugary woman-drink" to drowning her frustrations in round after round of vodka on the rocks. "Wutta _jerk,_" she whined to no one in particular, pounding the counter with her fists and kicking like a baby. "Ithsnot _fair!_"

Though Yukito and Touya were both concerned about her current state, they were quite busy tending to the needs of their many other customers—after all, the bar was open only four hours each day. When he didn't have his hands full, however, one of them would come by to lend her an ear or give her a pat on the back.

"Oh, Rina-chan…" Yukito sighed, wrangling the empty shot glass from her grip once again. "The world isn't ending just because you'll be away from home for a little while. It's almost like going to college back in the old days—many students traveled far from home for the purposes of seeking higher education."

"Thas commleetly dif'rent!" she groaned, resting her head on the countertop. "I don' _wanna_ go tuh college!"

Yukito sighed hopelessly, realizing his words were falling on deaf ears. "Well, I suppose the best thing you can do now is get some rest." Ignoring Rina's cries for more vodka, he retreated back into the kitchen.

Touya, who entered the room as Yukito left, could hardly stand the sight of such a sharp and energetic girl reduced to little more than tears and snot. "Look, Rina," he said. He leaned over the counter and gently tousled her hair. "Your brother's a smart kid, and he loves you. Whatever it is he's up to, it's probably for the best."

Sapped of all energy, Rina barely managed to shake her head. "He duzn' love me," she mumbled forlornly. "What kinda brother tries to get rid'f his sister?"

Touya sighed. He didn't know what to tell her—being an only child, he didn't have any experience with sibling rivalry or anything of the sort. He couldn't tell her with complete certainty that Rayze loved her without taking the risk of telling a lie. How did one describe Rayze, anyway? He certainly wasn't the brotherly type: he was capable and independent and did almost everything on his own. If Touya hadn't known the siblings for so long, he'd never have guessed they even knew each other.

So for now, all he could do was gaze at Rina, helpless to cheer her up. He sat there for a long time, letting the clamor of the bar fade away as he worried about her. He wanted so badly to help her, to protect her, to tell her everything would be alright. He wanted to beat up Rayze for putting her in so much pain—what the hell was the brat thinking, anyway? That selfish little twit. Touya never would have sent Rina away if she didn't want to go. He wanted nothing but for her to be happy. Was this what it felt like to be an older brother?

"Touya," Rina whispered, snapping him out of his daze. She seemed to have sobered up some.

Touya leaned in to hear her. "Yes?"

"Do you think Rayze hates me?"

He hesitated. What could he possibly say in response to that? At a time like this, was it best to be truthful? To say, "I don't know"? That didn't seem right. What, then? "I'm sure he doesn't"? Would a lie be better than the truth if it meant protecting Rina's happiness?

"I'm sure he doesn't," Touya said. He cringed. He could hear the emptiness in his own words; no doubt the ever-perceptive Rina would hear it, too (even if she was more than a little drunk).

Rina sat up, flushed from having kept her head down for so long. Sweat and tears stained her cheeks, but the clarity of her eyes made it hard to think of her as the sobbing mess she was only minutes earlier. She ran a hand through her hair to keep it out of her face. "I guess I'll never know," she muttered.

She wasn't sure what had prompted her brother to give her away to a group of random travelers, but that's exactly the situation she was faced with. There was something so fundamentally _wrong_ about the fact that he was willing to sever his ties with her and send her to live with people she'd never met before. To Rina, it crossed a very universal line. Rayze had pulled all kinds of pranks on her in the past ("forgetting" to change the oil in his hovercar, "accidentally" pushing her into a puddle of mud, "misplacing" her favorite necklace, and just otherwise being an annoying twit of a brother), but _dump her into the hands of three random guys_? Absolutely unthinkable.

That is, it _was_ unthinkable to her until he actually went ahead and did it.

*.*.*.*.* _2 hours ago_ *.*.*.*.*

"I..._what?!"_ Rina sputtered. What else could she say? Was this a common occurrence that she should have been prepared for? _Really, Rayze? Really? _she thought. "You're...cut it out, Rayze. Your jokes aren't funny."

"I was being completely serious, Rina," Rayze said, looking her in the eye with an expression of such sincerity and desperation that her resolve wavered. But only for a second. "I think this is a good opportunity for you," he continued, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "You know how much I want you to get out and see the world."

Maybe she was just especially sensitive to the way her brother behaved, but Rina knew that the sincerity he had going on was all an act. _B_ and _S_, she called it.

"You can't just…You can't just _hand over_ the responsibility of taking care of me to some people you met out on the street," she tried. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yukito-san and Touya make their way back into the kitchen. Clearly, she wasn't getting any support from them. She glanced over at her foster parents to-be, hoping they'd back her up. _Isn't that a reasonable thing to hope?_ she thought. After all, who in their right mind would willingly adopt a kid they didn't know just because her brother told them to? But much to her dismay, none of the travelers said anything; perhaps they were simply too stunned to come up with anything to say. _...And that's a perfectly reasonable reaction to have, come to think of it, _she decided.

Rayze, always the charmer, decided to direct his appeal to the men he was so graciously trying to hand his sister to. "Allow me to explain," he said, with something of an apologetic smile. "Rina and I are orphans. We don't know much about where we're from, but we do know that it was on the surface somewhere," he began. _Is he seriously telling them our whole backstory?_ Rina thought furiously. It was an unspoken rule between the siblings to never speak of the past—and here Rayze was, breaking that rule. "Unfortunately, we've never had the opportunity to explore the surface at all, what with all of those darned rules surrounding the elevator and such.

"Rina's my little sister, and I care for her immensely. She's smart and strong, and she deserves better than to spend all her life down here," Rayze said. "There's a war brewing between the civilians and the archaeologists, and it's highly likely that the entire city will collapse if any heavy-duty artillery becomes involved. I want Rina to get away from that, and you seem to be a well-traveled bunch—not to mention her only ticket out of here."

There was a long silence. Rina was sick with embarrassment. _A sob story,_ she thought. _He's turning my life into a sob story._

"And who's to say we want to take this twerp with us?" Kurogane demanded. _Finally, someone who's speaking rationally here_, Rina thought, ready to breathe a mental sigh of relief. _I mean, you, sir, are a jerk, but at least we're on the same page._

Rayze smirked. "I guess I can understand why you'd be reluctant to have her tag along," he admitted. "But I know that you're no average travelers. You come from very far indeed—you're not even from this dimension. You travel between dimensions, even. That's exactly the kind of traveling experience I want my sister to have. I want her to find our birthplace—or, if not that, a new home aboveground."

The room fell silent again. _What kind of nonsense is my brother spewing?_ Rina wondered, completely mortified. _As if I could care less about traveling the world_. Beyond that, she couldn't help but think how entirely unlikely it was that he was doing all this for her own good. She knew him better than to think he was actually being considerate of her.

"A dreamseer," Fai muttered quietly, effectively breaking the silence. "That's how you know about dimension traveling. You're a dreamseer."

_What?_

Rina snapped her attention to Rayze, hopelessly confused, but he only nodded solemnly. "I am," he said. "That's why I want for Rina to travel with you. I saw your arrival here, and I knew that you were the ones who would save Rina from a future of life in the dark."

The boy, Syaoran, shook his head, firm in his decision not to allow Rina on his travels. This was a private matter between him and his other self—and, of course, the others involved in the whole mess. He didn't want outsiders coming in; he didn't like the idea that he would be traveling with a girl who wasn't Sakura. "We can't...I don't think we can just bring her along with us. It's not something we can decide to do," he explained, choosing his words carefully. However, the disappointment in Rayze's expression caused Syaoran to feel a pang of guilt, a sudden need to justify his decision. "There has to be payment of some sort," he said.

As if a switch was flipped, Rayze's pained expression vanished. A mischievous smile played on his lips. "Female company?" he joked darkly.

"_Rayze!"_ Rina snapped, blood rushing to her cheeks. Of the travelers, only Fai and Mokona looked mildly amused.

Rayze sighed. "Right, right. But all jokes aside, I'm willing to give up anything for you to take her. Anything short of my life," he declared.

Syaoran froze, letting the weight of the situation sink in. _He's really serious about this, isn't he?_ he thought. Perhaps it was the sense of urgency in Rayze's tone that made him reconsider, perhaps the unexplained guilt he felt in the pit of his stomach, but Syaoran found himself saying, "Mokona, get in contact with Watanuki-san at the shop."

*.*.*.*.*

Rina awoke earlier than usual. _5:23,_ her wristwatch read. No wonder it was still pitch black outside. She couldn't help but feel that the darkness reflected her mood: cold, crushing, and consuming. On normal mornings, she would wake up to the bright lights and sounds of the city, ready to greet the new day with vigor. This was clearly not a normal morning. Instead, Rina stared at the backs of her eyelids for the seven minutes before the power came on.

And when the lights finally did come on, she didn't want to get up. She lay in bed for another couple of hours, staring at the ceiling and listening to the whirring of hovercrafts overhead. The day was not one worth jumping into head first; she just wanted the universe to forget about its plans for the day, maybe move on to tomorrow. Of course, the universe didn't care what she wanted.

"Rina-chan, today is the big day, isn't it?" Yukito chirped, completely forgetting to knock before entering the room. "Oh! Sorry," he said, noticing Rina was still wearing her pajamas and closing the door again. Rina guessed he wasn't used to having guests stay over.

She dressed slowly, taking an abnormally long time to zip up her jumpsuit and lace up her boots. She thought that maybe, if she was slow enough, some miracle would happen and put off the inevitable. Much to her chagrin, nothing happened by the time she finished changing, and she had little choice but to head downstairs.

Touya was wiping down the countertop when she got there. She frequently wondered if that was all he ever did, but she never dared to ask. "Good morning, Touya," she said flatly.

He put down the rag immediately and looked up at her. "Geez, you can't even _pretend_ to be excited, can you?" he scoffed.

"No," she replied, clearly making no effort to sound any more cheerful. "But thanks for letting me stay over."

"Not a problem. You weren't in any shape to go home."

Yukito came in from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes and what appeared to be a vegetable stew. "Ah, there you are, Rina," he said, smiling gently. "I was wondering when you would come down. Any longer and you would have missed breakfast—Touya would have already devoured it."

Touya snorted derisively. "Yeah, right."

Rina managed a meaningless smile at their banter as Yukito set the bowls in front of her. "I was just tired," she said.

Touya gritted his teeth upon seeing the emptiness in Rina's eyes. It was only natural that she'd be upset—so why had he been hoping to be greeted with her usual energy? He went back into the kitchen as she stared into her bowl with distaste. "You want something for that hangover? Coffee, maybe? I have some tomato juice," he called. "Or coconut water. The stuff works great for hangovers. We just got a new supply in yesterday, if you're interested."

Rina slumped over in her seat, giving up on pretending she wanted to eat the stew and pushing the bowl as far away from herself as possible. "I don't have a hangover. Coconut water sounds nice, though."

"You won't eat any?" Yukito asked, smiling good-naturedly. Rina shook her head. "Alright then," he chirped, whisking the bowls away and setting them at the end of the counter. He raised his voice slightly. "I guess Touya will have to eat it for you."

"Eugh," Touya groaned, returning with Rina's glass of coconut water. "There's a reason she didn't want it, you know."

Yukito feigned shock. "What? Touya, are you criticizing my cooking ability?" he gasped. "Are you going to let my wonderful stew go to waste?"

Rina's lips twitched as she tried to stifle a laugh. She failed, and a giggle escaped her lips. "Oh, Touya, please don't make Yukito-san sad," she snickered. "Please eat the wonderful stew he made."

Touya sighed, handing Rina the coconut water and crouching down so that his eyes were level with hers. "Fine. I'll eat that nasty slop for you," he surrendered. "But...only if you promise me you'll try to be happy."

Rina's eyes widened. She'd come downstairs obviously unhappy; had Yukito and Touya been joking around for her sake? Her heart swelled at the thought, and she blinked to fight back tears. "I…"

The door swung open, bells jingling overhead. "Hello," Syaoran said meekly, stepping into the bar. His companions followed him in.

"Good morning, Rina-chan!" Fai called.

"Morning!" Mokona squealed, hopping over to Rina from its perch on Fai's shoulder. "I hope you had a good breakfast! We have lots and lots to do!"

Rina blinked slowly, taking time to fully register what was happening. "I...yes, I had a lovely breakfast. Thank you," she responded. She gazed at the group of people before her: Fai smiled warmly, Syaoran looked at her curiously, and Kurogane stared at the floor indifferently. They seemed like a tolerable bunch, though Rina knew it would take some time to get to know them all.

And beyond that...she couldn't help but notice the absence of one person over the presence of the others. _Rayze…_she thought. She knew it couldn't be helped that he wasn't there, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"Good," Syaoran said, nodding. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yeah, I think so…" she said, lifting her backpack to show them. For a moment, she wavered. She'd packed a few sets of her work clothes and some mementos of her life up until then—the lucky fluorite necklace Rayze had bought for her at the Earth Festival, the silver hairpin her mother had handed down to her, the tool kit Rayze had given to her for her birthday last year—but she wondered if it was enough. "Just the essentials," she added. How much was necessary? When would she be coming back?

"We can probably buy whatever you don't have," Fai suggested. "In the meantime, Kuro-pii can hold your bag for you." He took her relatively heavy backpack and handed it to a grouchy Kurogane.

"Girls have so many 'essential' things," Kurogane muttered. "The hell's in here, anyway?"

Rina pouted. "If you're that weak, I can hold it myself," she retorted.

"Oh, don't you worry about it!" Fai said, preventing Kurogane from saying whatever he was going to say. "Kuro-muu will definitely hold it for you. If nothing else, it'll help him get stronger!"

"Right!" Mokona added, sitting on Kurogane's head. "Kurogane can use it to train!"

"A-alright…" Rina said, unsure of how to deal with this energetic duo. "I think that's it, then."

Syaoran smiled sympathetically. "If that's the case, then we should be on our way," he said.

"Wait just a second," Yukito interjected. He reached behind the counter and lifted a small pouch. He handed it to Rina. "You may want to bring this."

Rina nodded and carefully took the pouch off of Yukito's hands. Though she knew exactly what was inside, she opened it to be sure, gently tracing the feather-light metal contraption with her index finger. The silvery wings were so precious to her; they were far from perfect even after numerous prototypes, but they were also the first things Rina had ever truly enjoyed making without Rayze's help. She had put too much time and effort into making these for her to leave them behind now. Besides, just holding them made her feel lighter. Hopeful, even.

"I've been wondering this for a while now, but you don't seem to be surprised by Mokona," Fai mentioned. "Most people have no idea what it is."

"Mokona is Mokona!" Mokona reiterated.

For the first time, Rina smiled at the travelers. "R&R Corporation makes robot creatures like Mokona all the time," she said. "There's a pretty big market for them these days. I'm not all that surprised that travelers like you have one."

Mokona looked taken aback. "But, Mokona is—"

"Shh, shhh," Fai crooned. "Mokona is Mokona."

Touya watched guardedly as Rina interacted with these strangers. Earlier, he had asked her to be happy, and he knew that being happy with these strangers meant getting along with them, too. She was laughing and smiling now, so why wasn't he satisfied? The truth was, he didn't know if he was ready to accept this sudden reality of her rapidly approaching departure. He certainly wasn't ready to let her go.

"Rina-san," Syaoran said, "we should be on our way now."

Rina looked up from squishing Mokona's cheeks. "Right," she mumbled. She politely thanked Yukito and Touya for everything they'd done for her over the years, but though she wanted to hug them both, she refrained. Hugging them would make her cry again.

She felt a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay," Fai said encouragingly. "We'll take care of you." She nodded in response.

As Mokona began the process of transporting them to their next destination, Rina wondered for the umpteenth time if she was really ready to leave her life behind. She wondered why Rayze would want this for her; she wondered if what Rayze wanted was best. There was no end to her doubts, and Rayze wasn't even around to reassure her. She knew he would never ask her to stay, nor would he ever welcome her back. In fact, it was likely that he wouldn't talk to her even if she came back.

But Rayze was on a mission. At nineteen, he was amongst the youngest innovators in the technological world and arguably the most accomplished. Rina was considered a creative powerhouse herself, but there was no doubt that Rayze was the true genius. Even though she was never quite certain what Rayze was trying so hard to accomplish, Rina knew that it would change the world. Looking back on the years she had spent working at his side and listening to his instructions, she realized that she couldn't possibly handle that kind of responsibility; she had probably burdened him more than she ever could have helped him. Leaving, perhaps, was for the better.

Touya sensed the change in Rina's resolve—she looked ready to face whatever was out there, and it scared him. He had to stop himself from telling her not to leave, but he knew that this was her decision. It was too late to change anything now, anyway: the best he could do was wish her well on her journey.

"Rina," he called. "Our promise. Tell me you promise to do what I asked."

Rina looked in Touya's direction, the colorful winds of space and time enveloping the group and obscuring her view. She could feel the dimensional pull, she could feel the familiarity of Marxus melt away. Could she really be happy wherever she was going?

"I promise," she shouted.

Happiness, she thought, was something she could manage. Peace was the real issue.

And when the dazzling colors of the dimensional flow disappeared, Touya couldn't see her anymore.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review; all of your comments make writing worthwhile.**


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